A play replete with puns and double-entendres, this is one of Shakespeare’s earliest and most lighthearted.

The young king of Navarre and three of his courtiers have vowed to lock themselves away for three years of study and fasting, and to forswear the company of women for this period. No sooner is their vow made than it is tested, however, as the princess of France and three of her ladies arrive in Navarre on a diplomatic mission. The young men fall instantly and hopelessly in love, and the tension between their vow and their passion forms the subject of this charming and sparkling early comedy.

Berowne is played by Alex Jennings and Rosaline by Emma Fielding. Samantha Bond is the princess, and Greg Wise the king of Navarre. Alan Howard plays Don Armado.

Telling his followers he is leaving the city on affairs of state, the Duke of Vienna appoints the puritanical Angelo to govern in his absence. Will Angelo prove as virtuous as he seems once power is in his hands?

Roaming the city disguised as a friar, the duke looks on as Angelo’s lust for the virtuous Isabella sweeps him into the corruption he has so sternly condemned in others.

The duke’s manipulation at last produces a happy ending for this dark comedy, with its brilliant exploration of the themes of justice and mercy.

Roger Allam plays the duke and Simon Russell Beale is Angelo. Isabella is played by Stella Gonet.

Shakespeare’s finest verse play is also his first portrait of the psychology of power.

The sensitive and poetic Richard II is undoubtedly the rightful king of England but he is unscrupulous and weak. When his cousin Henry Bolingbroke returns from banishment and mounts a challenge to his authority, Richard’s right to the throne proves of little help to him. Richard is forced to abdicate, but as his power is stripped away, he gains dignity and self-awareness, and he meets his death heroically. Meanwhile Bolingbroke’s seizure of the crown has caused resentment among the nobles of England.

Rupert Graves is Richard II, and Julian Glover is Bolingbroke. John Wood plays John of Gaunt.

Chaos and confusion mount to a crescendo in a wild and fast-paced comedy of mistaken identity, one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays.

Young Antipholus of Syracuse is searching the world for his identical twin brother, separated from him at birth. With him is his servant Dromio, who lost his twin brother at the same time. The pair arrive in Ephesus where, unbeknownst to them, their twins are living.

Antipholus of Syracuse is played by David Tennant, Antipholus of Ephesus by Brendan Coyle. Alan Cox and Jason O’Mara are the two Dromios, while Niamh and Sorcha Cusack play Adriana and Luciana.

It is said that Queen Elizabeth gave Shakespeare two weeks to write this play that showcases her favorite comedic character, Sir John Falstaff.

The dissolute Falstaff plans to seduce Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, two “Merry Wives of Windsor,” thereby gaining access to their husbands’ wealth. The two women have the old rogue’s measure, however, and Falstaff’s plots lead only to his own humiliation. But the merry wives themselves fall prey to plotting as their plans to prevent Mistress Page’s daughter Anne from marrying the young man she loves are frustrated in their turn.

Dinsdale Landen is Falstaff. Sylvestra Le Touzel plays Mistress Ford and Penny Downie is Mistress Page. Nicholas Woodeson is Ford, Phillip Jackson is Page, and Clive Swift plays Justice Shallow.